National debt More than half of EU countries break budget rules
More than half of the EU member states broke their self-imposed rules on budget deficits last year. With the exception of Luxembourg, Greece, Cyprus, Denmark, Ireland and Portugal, all 27 EU countries spent more money than they took in.
21.10.2025, 14:39
21.10.2025, 14:40
SDA
Twelve member states had a deficit of three percent or more in relation to total economic output and were therefore above the applicable upper limits, according to data from the EU statistics office Eurostat. According to the data, Romania had the highest deficit in 2024 at 9.3 percent. According to Eurostat, Germany's deficit was 2.7 percent.
Rule breakers risk criminal proceedings
The European debt rules, also known as the Stability and Growth Pact, apply to all EU member states. Among other things, the rules stipulate that the debt level of a member state may not exceed 60 percent of economic output. At the same time, the budget deficit must remain below three percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Anyone who exceeds the limits risks criminal proceedings. Deficit proceedings are therefore currently underway against the highly indebted countries of France and Italy as well as several other EU countries.
According to Eurostat data, twelve EU countries had a debt ratio of more than 60 percent of gross domestic product last year. The highest debt ratios were found in Greece (154.2 percent), Italy (134.9 percent) and France (113.2 percent). According to Eurostat, Germany's debt ratio in 2024 was 62.2 percent.
